Wanting to have a better form of remote control for his pay television decoder, Chet created an interesting and customisable system using an Arduino-compatible board, an Android phone and Bluetooth wireless. Using the Google/MIT App Inventor, he created an Android app to emulate the keys from a remote control - and when a button is pressed, a code is sent via Bluetooth serial to the Arduino circuit. This in turn interprets the command and sends the matching IR transmit signal to some high-powered IR LEDs.
It's an interesting example that shows how easy you can create an Android app, interface it with an Arduino and also the framework for a powerful universal remote control. To get started, visit the project page. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.
When adding your own circuitry for an Arduino-based project such as the IR/Bluetooth system mentioned above, you'll need a protoshield to mount the external circuitry. In doing so, consider our range of ProtoShields. From the tiny LeoStick to the Mega range, we offer a complete range for you to work with.